Matrim Chronicles- post WH
by Alia Frierdon
Summary: You say your favorite character is Mat. You say you can't believe that you have to wait till 2003 for book 10 that will probably be all about Egwene. I say don't despair, read on
1. beginnings

All in all it added up to be one of the worst days of Mat's life. " That vile   
woman!" he thought, " I curse the day I ever laid eyes on that, that   
creature". The need of stealth had caused their small party escaping Ebou   
Dar to be cramped together for the past few weeks. They had made great haste   
in the first days fearing to be caught by a roving sentry, or worse a   
deathwatch guard. With Mat's unbelievable luck, so he thought, the menagerie   
was not so much as stopped or questioned and reached the border without   
mishap with them safely secreted in some of its army of traveling wagons.   
Having successfully made it out of Altara, they all collectively took a   
breath. The panic of flight now settled down, letting everyone's frayed   
nerves show with a vengeance. It had all started to go downhill when Juilin   
had punched Valan Luca right in his face nearly breaking his nose. Mat would   
have to be more careful where his eyes roamed lest he be dealt the same fate,   
he had hardly ever seen a man get so worked up about a little harmless   
looking. Julian seems to have been transformed into an honest man by his   
Seanchan lady, Thera. And as for Luca, well he was a married man even if he   
liked to pretend differently. Oh that bloody Luca, Mat could hardly stand to   
be in the same room with him, always sneering at him in that derogatory way   
and incessantly showing off his flaming cape! After the Juilin incident he   
threatened to throw the whole lot of them out of the menagerie to fend for   
themselves. Mat having decided that they were still to far in Seanchan   
territory, and far to small a party with way too many secrets to do without   
their most reliable method of escape opted for a little diplomacy, however   
painful. It was a good thing that Valan was the kind of man who liked the   
look of gold. In the end it had taken quite a lot of finesse, not to mention   
a great lot of wine, to bring him to his senses. After that night Mat had   
kept his distance from the man, abstaining even from joining any of the   
other's around the fire at night to hear the old man Noal's intriguing   
stories. As if that man alone weren't enough to put him at his wits end,   
Aludra was keeping her secrets held closer to her than Mat kept his foxhead   
medallion for all his efforts. And worse yet she had stopped to take Mat's   
advances seriously. What was the bleeding use of a bellmaker? He couldn't   
make his brain except the logic of the question. He knew he wasn't looking at   
it from the right angle. But he had just not been in the right frame of mind   
for that type of thinking since leaving Ebou Dar, since leaving Tylin tied up   
under her bed. Oh what he wouldn't give for a little peace of mind. But Mat   
couldn't even find solitude in his wagon, he was always being waylaid by   
Olver and forced to play pointless games of Snakes and Foxes. The boy was   
relentless in his obsession to win fairly. Now that he wasn't the center of   
attention for women three times his age, he came to plague Mat in the   
evenings. He had plenty of mischief to make in the day. Someone was   
suspected of having meddled with the tiger's cage causing them to break out   
and send their tamers into a hysterical fit. Mat couldn't help but laugh   
though, even if the boy was going to turn out to be a troublemaker, he   
reminded him to much of himself at that age. Olver had actually asked Valan   
to be allowed into the stunt horseback-riding act. He was the right size and   
weight, and was becoming quite the talented rider. Mat was sure that with a   
little training he could have put on a first rate show, even if Mat did   
loathe the thought of Olver working for that man. Fortunately, Valan outright   
rejected him claiming he was to ugly for his audience to be made to look at.   
Olver took it in stride, but Valan had been in a fury to catch the "villain"   
who had had ruined his best red cape, turning it a vulgar pink.   
  
None of this was why Mat was having the worst day of his life even though   
days traveling with the menagerie were far from bliss. No the reason for that   
had a name, and that name was Tuon. She could give Elayne lessons in   
arrogance! He had wanted to just keep her tied up and stuffed in a chest with   
a nice sturdy lock on it. The further away from him the better. The Daughter   
of the Nine Moons, Light! But Egeanin would not hear of it, the blasted   
women fainted at the very notion. And Mat knew that it was unethical to lock   
someone up in such a fashion. Instead they had kept her under constant guard   
with rotating shifts. Her and her strange servant, Selucia who were kept on   
opposite sides of the camp.. They had procured a stage wig to cover her   
baldness, and cut her fingernails short while removing the lacquer. At first   
they had bound and gagged her least she tried to run away or signal help if   
they ran into any troops. But she had not put up a fight, she was as docile   
as a mouse, all except for her mouth. They stowed their prisoners in a wagon   
secluded from the rest. Luca didn't ask questions about bound and gagged   
prisoners or Seanchan nobles as long as the gold flowed. Truth be told Mat didn't think   
Luca would care even if he knew who it has they held prisoner, he didn't seem to care about   
anything at all for that matter, except making a profit and aggravating Mat. When they had   
reached what seemed to all in Mat's party to be a moderately safe zone, when   
they were one third of the way to Lugard where Mat planned to break with the meanagerie  
, they had un-gagged her. And to think Mat had almost pitied her, but that was before   
she spoke. She never said words of scorn to any of her other captors, she was   
positively sweet to them, as if she was saving up all her bitterness to hurl   
at Mat. Mat refused to gag her again or to forego his allotted time to guard   
her. He was not going to be intimidated by her , no matter what she said. She   
was not afraid at all, she was brave, he would give her that. But her   
constant insults and oaths of what would be done to him when he was caught   
got to him in spite of his willing them not to. It was during these times   
that Mat truly loathed being alive. His mind focused on all the negative   
things that had transpired and could yet transpire. Thoughts of the gholam   
possibly on their trail, thoughts of battles he had fought and lost in lives   
long since past, thoughts of fox faced monsters laughing at him in pure jest   
before they devoured his heart. Through his dark stream of thought he always   
heard her voice, coated with venom. " Tylin's Toy", " Less than property!"   
Somtimes some of the children would come to giggle at him until he threw   
sticks at them to make them retreat. The worst though was when she called him   
husband with the most sarcastic voice she could muster. " Oh dear husband,   
surely you wish to kiss your sweet bride, oh how she pines for your tender   
caress" He was a light blinded fool for ever uttering those bleeding words.   
He wished beyond all else that he could just take them back. Oh what a mess   
he had made of it. And he was actually going to have to marry this woman! No   
there had to be a way out, he couldn't even conceive of ever loving something   
that was so full of hate for him. The sky around seemed as grim as death   
momentarily stealing the breath from his lungs.   
  
Now on this particular morning Tuon had gone to far. "The Creator as my   
witness she went to far, and I was justified!" She had looked up at him and   
in a calm voice said " You are less than a man, Mat Cauthon. You let your   
women treat you like covale, like property, for everyone to see even though   
you are a free man. And after this you refuse to be bought and become an   
esteemed so'jhin. I would rather die the lonely death of a spinster than ever   
become a wife to such a man. You have no shame and you have no sei'taer, you   
have no honor" Mat had overreacted. But he wouldn't be talked to like that.   
Not when she didn't know, couldn't possibly know! He had backhanded her   
across the right cheek sending her and her chair to the ground. He was so   
surprised by his outburst of rage, that it angered him more. He stormed out,   
he couldn't take it anymore. He stormed out only to have Valan Luca plant his   
body right in his path. The man had obviously had to much to drink. Mat had heard   
gossip around the menagerie that things had all started to go down hill for Luca after his  
marriage, one that at that time he thought was necessary for him to keep his indulgent  
lifestyle. He could have never guessed that giving shelter to an animal trainer could have led   
him to reap such fortune from the Seanchan, nor that he was going to become a wealthy man   
indeed without the benefit of a good marriage. luca looked up with glazed eyes at Mat. Who at this   
time was using all his energy just to stay composed. " Yes, I think you are the villian! Come Balrin I've caught the   
culprit at last" Luca wobbled a little on his feet but managed to stay rooted   
in Mat's way. " Get out of my way fool, I have no time for your stupidity I   
need to find Thom and I need to find him right away" . " You eluded me, but   
now I've got witnesses. Several people heard you say you that you were glad   
my cape was ruined so I couldn't show off like a gleeman knave anymore! I   
knew from the moment I saw you Cauthon, that you were nothing but a scoundrel   
who bribed a few fools to follow in his wake. Probably don't even know what   
an honest days work feels like. I built this menagerie up from nothing by the   
force of my own will. I'd like to see your kind ever try such a feat. And now   
when I've become a successful man I have villains like you try to take my aceivements from me,  
laugh at me and destroy my property. I won't have it!"   
Luca made an attempt to strike him but Mat easily dodged him and let him   
throw himself into a fall. He was seething. He had to keep control of   
himself. He had to find Thom.  



	2. poor Tuon

Tuon laid flat on the floor staring up at the grimy ceiling of her prison. In that moment as she lay there she forgot herself and plunged into a fit of remorse. She missed the streets of Seandar and her home at the Court of the Nine Moons. She felt a pain that was almost physical out of longing for the sight of Seanchan shore, to look once more upon her homeland. it seemed so long ago that she had come to this land blown by Kidron's sails; since she had joined the Corenne.   
Tuon desperately wanted to scratch her scalp. She felt shame and embarrassment every time she thought about the hair that she knew was growing in under her hideous wig. it itched fiercely but with her hands tied firmly to the chair she was helpless to do anything about it. Tuon felt herself shiver at the thought of being helpless, she calmed herself, she had promised to show no fear. She would not lower her eyes in the face of adversity, even if the situation seemed beyond bleak. No, she would do what she knew best, what she had always done. She would keep her bearing, hold herself up high before her enemies and look them in the eye! Let them dare to harm her then, a daughter of the Empress herself, may she live forever.   
Tuon took an inward breath and let out a long sigh. She always was one to out do herself when honor was at stake. She had always given all her heart to the struggle against her kin for the Empress's , may she live forever, favor. And she had been a natural, plotting incidents against her brothers and sisters, setting them up to lose face in public. Oh how they would have laughed could they see her now, where it seemed her skills offered her no escape. Captured and at the mercy of other's will in a foreign land. Tuon had wanted so badly to be the first of Luthair Paendrag's heirs to set foot on the land that was rightfully theirs. She had had so much confidence in herself. She dreamed of being the first Empress to rule the empire at its fullest glory. An empire that she herself would have helped grow. Things never work out perfectly, Tuon knew that, and perhaps her dream was to full of self ambition, a quality tuon could hardly praise in others and didn't like seeing in herself. She couldn't have even imagined how bad events really were to turn. She felt like the biggest failure in the world. All her work was to come to this. All her maneuvering to propel herself to the forefront of the Corenne dispite her age and unspoken doubts from the Blood that were as obvious as day. Her great victories, being the Empress's, may she live forever, unquestionable favorite; being assigned the most important task in all the empire, to bring the Dragon himself to kneel before the Crystal Throne. All this honor gone, so it seemed replaced by promises of a future rife with abuse, physical and emotional. Lidya's predictions had been disturbing, but they were nothing to prepare her for the shock of total loss. She was all alone now. She had been positive that she would be rescued. She was guarded by a small army of the most deadly fighters in all Seanchan. And yet her captors had escaped with her hidden away among them, nothing but an abondoned girl without the force of her position to back her up. Nothing but an abandoned girl perhaps never to be seen again. Soon even the small protection she had from their need of secrecy would be at an end. She was scared to her very soul. She had overheard that Cauthon's party would disband from the menagerie when they were halfway to " Lugard". Tuon didn't know this place but she knew that it would be soon. Halfway to Lugard, that was when she would be totally at the mercy of Mat Cauthon. She cursed at him till her lungs burned with the effort, but she was really cursing her own fear. She didn't know exactly what he had planned for her, and she didn't want to think about it. She had marveled at the mystery that was Mat Cauthon while in the Tarasin Palace. Who was this man with all his secrets?; Why did men follow him?; Where had he gotten such a weapon?; Why did the former Aes Sedai look at him that way? Tuon had not solved these mysteries, she had been ignorant and that had cost her her life. When they were halfway to Lugard she would escape or she would die trying, most likely she would die. She would not, could not stay with this man who would force his every will on her the moment he was free to. " She is my wife"; his voice echoed in her mind magnifying till her head felt like it would explode and her heart raced with the pent up urgency to flee, flee at any cost. As the day faded into night Tuon allowed herself one solitary tear for the future that was lost to her.   



	3. A promise kept

Mat made his way through the camp on his search for Thom. " Light!, " Where had the man disappeared to when he most needed him around. Luckily the brisk walk was slowly soothing Mat's temper. He asked a group of acrobats if they had seem Thom around anywhere, he was quite well known in the camp, the old man could still put on quite a show to rival men half his age, a trait that had made him an object of great interest. No one seemed to have seen Thom since morning though. Mat's search comtinued. When he had made his way to the far side of the camp he began to lose his determination, he must not want to have been found. Mat was just about to go back to his wagon when he heard Teslyn call his name. There was something very peculiar though. Not only was Teslyn standing there, Joline, Edesina, and of all people Egeanin were standing there looking his way with a set look on their faces. Mat had not said more than three words to these women on there flight northward. Truthfully he was at a loss for words what to say to them and with so much else on his mind he had just put them out of it. Mat gave them a friendly, if nervous smile and walked in their direction. " Ah Mat, we finally get a chance to talk" said Teslyn. " How are you and the redarms coming along". " Were doing as best as can be expected I guess " Mat said " We plan to find the Band as soon as we leave the meanagerie, less than a week's time now I think and we will be on our way". Mat wondered who was going to ask what first. He could see all the questions they had written on their faces. Will you return to Caemlyn? What do you intend to do about the gholam? Will you keep Tuon hostage? Against his expectations though Teslyn said " I beleive I have unfinished buisness with you Mat Cauthon" , " If you remember I said that if you helped me escape I would do anything you ask". Mat was astounded, he gave a dumbfounded look to the four women who stood before him. " We have been talking much these last weeks and we have decided that now is the time to forget the past" Joline looked away in the other direction obviously labeling herself as a major part of that "past" ; " The White Tower is divided at possibly the worst time in history for such a rift, and even though we had taken different sides we have united ourselves to a greater need that Egeanin has reavealed to us" A greater need? Mat waited for her to continue. " A lie is what holds together the Seanchan idea of who are sul'dam and who are damane, a lie that if exposed could topple the whole practice, we feel that it is our responsibility to work together to reaveal the truth". At this point Egeanin took over " Its true Mat, I can hardly believe I am saying this now, but I have come to see the truth that I am no different than any damane I ever treated as less than a human being, I see now that weilding the One Power does not somehow make someone less than they otherwise would be, if anything the opposite is true. I have had the chance to meet many Aes Sedai, Elayne, Nynaeve, Joline, Edesina, and Teslyn; all women I would be honored to call friends. Renna and Seta are coming to see the truth now, I can hear them weep at night sometimes asking for forgiveness for the things they did in their ignorance. All this Mat I ask you to understand and see that there is a chance that we can make a difference, a big difference" Mat didn't understand, Egeanin knew Elayne and Nynaeve! " What can I do" he said. Joline spoke up " Your part is easy, all you have to do is realease us, we owe are lives to you Mat Cauthon, without you our mission would never have been possible, we owe this much to you to tell you what he plan and hope that you will agree that this is the best thing that we can do" . Mat was truly dumfounded now, he was sure that his mouth must have been open wide enough to catch flies. " I did what I did cause I thought it was right, and I could never ask anything more from another except to do what they trull believe to be right. Even if you had decided that that meant joining Elaida I would not have stopped you, but in this thing I agree with you and i wish you well". All four women beamed at him as if he were there long lost son returned home. Joline even went as far to ruffle his hair " We are leaving tomorrow Mat Cauthon" said Teslyn. " I don't know if our paths will ever cross again but we will always look upon you in kindness". Mat walked back towards his wagon with a smile on his face, his mood completly changed from what it was a half hour before. Who knew Aes Sedai could be like that, he realized his opinion of them had changed a great deal over the last 2 years. With that boyish smile Mat went to get some dinner.   



	4. missing person

Night came and still no Thom, where could that old man have run   
off too. Mat started to become very worried when at midnight there was still   
no sign of him. What if the gholam had gotten to him, or one of the   
forsaken? Mat rounded up Vanin, Harnan, Metwyn, and Gorderan and organized a   
search for Thom. Luca decided to get in a snit about "bothering the animals   
at this time of night". The man was truly a selfish fool. The night was brisk   
and the moon was waning, it was hardly a sliver in the sky. When news started   
to spread around the camp that Thom was missing a lot of others joined in   
the search. Bayle ran out to join the others as soon as he heard, Noal too.   
Mat's heart was racing, what if someone found him dead, ripped up like all   
those other victims of the gholam. Mat had thought Thom dead once before and   
had been wrong, he wanted nothing more right now then for that fearful   
feeling rising up in his stomach to be proved wrong. That old man had become a   
good friend, Mat did not want to be thinking these thoughts. Mat ran through   
the night, through the thicket and sparse forest of the surrounding area   
looking for a sign. Growing up in the Two Rivers he had learned how to track a   
man in the wilderness but there were far to many tracks near the camp to   
distinguish one man's passing. Hopefully Mat would come upon his trail out past   
all the downtrodden areas. Mat tried to focus his thoughts, why couldn't   
he use his ability as tavern this way, when he really wanted something   
badly. Mat realized that he had now run far from the camp, he was now all   
by himself. He suddenly realized that he had taken his ashandarei with him, he   
didn't remember picking it up. The ravens gleamed in the wan light. Mt   
squinted in the dark looking for clues. He ran on and almost missed the   
tracks that were nearly invisible in a small clearing where it looked as though a   
brushfire had burned away most of the grass leaving only dirt. The boot   
marks looked the size of Thom's, and would have been made by a man Thom's   
weight. Mat ran full speed in the direction the tracks lead him, he ran until he   
got a stitch in his side and his leg started to feel stiff from the old   
injury that still hadn't completely healed. And then the worst thing possible   
happened, the trail just ended, just like that the boot marks disappeared, Mat   
knew what it must be, it was almost as bad as finding Thom's carcass laid out   
right before him. The signs were unmistakable the grass had been perfectly   
sliced where the doorway had opened, where someone had traveled. Mat failed   
to remain standing any longer, he fell into a sort of kneel with his head   
pressed against the ground trying to suppress a wail. And then Mat   
thought about Rand, about how he might be able to help. Mat was helpless, he   
could not follow the path any further than this. And then the colors came   
to him, Mat continued though, he was going to get to the bottom of what this   
meant, this strange state he went into every time he thought of Perrin or   
Rand. He focused on Rand, on all their times together, on who he used to   
be and was now. Mat swore he could see Rand's face, and could see his lips   
moving. He struggled to make him out but then the swirl of colors   
overwhelmed him and he saw no more. 


	5. The s*it hits the fan

Tuon was awoken late in the night to the sound of quiet talking coming from a short distance. She had long ago trained her ears to pick up even the faintest of sounds. As she strained her ears the murmurs started to make sense, she recognized one voice to be Metwyn, the dark haired man that sometimes guarded her. " I told you I saw it myself, right where Lord Mat was found. The track just disappeared. I've never seen anything bloody like it." " Well what does that mean, is the search over" another voice said. " Are we going to give him up for dead" boomed another that Tuon recognized as the traitor Egeanin's so'jhin. "Calm down, Bayle. I've just come back from talking to Lord Mat" continued Metwyn in a brusque tone trying to control the conversation. " The Aes Sedai don't even know what happened to him, he lost consciousness for some reason, probablly out of grief. And here you are talking about trying to do more, as if the Lord Mat wouldn't have done everything possible. Thom meant more to him than he did to any of us. Its just out of our hands. Mighty odd I tell you, the Aes Sedai looked pretty spooked about something. They kept Lord Mat in there for a long stretch. Wouldn't even let us get a glimpse of him. They told us it might not be safe of all things. Asi if it were not safe for Lord Mat to see his own men. They did look serious though. This whole thing has got a funny feeling to it. I'm not saying I know what happened to Thom, but I am saying that whatever it is not even the Aes Sedai know what to do about it." Tuon thought she heard muffled cursing and then. " Well have you seen Egeanin, we were supposed to leave come morning, and if the search is truly pointless to pursue I'd rather be as far away from this place as possible. I know to much of what is going on already to claim to want to know a bit more." " Come with me, I think she is still with Lord Mat. I think he will want to talk with all of us before this night is through." And then the men's voices became to far away to hear. Tuon flopped back onto her back and under her covers. She sulked. It was quite hard to sleep comfortably when you were tied up. Over the weeks Tuon had worked on a position that allowed her to sleep so she at least wasn't sore and her wrists worn raw in the morning. But it was far from comfortable, she found herself waking up many times a night when her arms slipped and the bindings cut into her skin. Not that she would have got alot of sleep this night anyways. The camp had had the feel of restless anxiety ever since the search started at about midnight. Tuon had kept herself alert all night hopeing to come across news of what was happening. She had heard nothing of value until just then, and now she was quite satisfied. So Mat Cauthon had knocked himself unconscious, bet he tripped over a root and landed head first on a rock, ha!. Tuon had other things to think about though. The escaped damane were leaving today. Tuon had hoped that maybe Egeanin would force Mat to let her free. The woman cringed every time she caught a passing glimpse of her! And her guilt in this incident would have been proved without a doubt by now. If she helped Tuon escape she might only be beheaded but as it stood now she would spend the rest of her life regretting her decisions in the Tower of Ravens if she were ever caught. As for this man, Thom Merrilin, well where could the man have gone. Not that she regreted his departure, the more that left the party of her captors the better. Tuon was definitly sulking. But she hated that Mat Cauthon, he had given her a large bruise. The situation she was in still amazed her. If Tuon had even an ounce of luck backing her up, Mat Cauthon would be running to and fro on her every whim, or paying greatly for disobeying. If she ever got her chance to turn the tables on him, she would find out just what made him believe he had the right to claim ownership of any part of her! Tuon had built up a lot of resolve though, she made a conscious effort to quit her sulking now. If there was any moment when escape was possible, she would take it. Right then there was still a very peeved guard circling her wagon, probablly wanted to be out there searching for this Thom also. But then Tuon noticed like a whip crack bringing her to attention that the guards footsteps were no longer discernable in the night air. Just then she heard lighter footsteps stepping closer to her wagon. What if whatever had gotten to this Thom was after her. Tuon tensed all her muscles into a bundle and tried to form herself into the best defensive stance that she could. And in a split second all of Tuon's problems seemed to fade away, replaced by the present and the need to above all things hurry. For it was not an unknown assailant it was Selucia, beautiful Selucia holding what looked like a carving knife in one hand and wielding a horse-shoe in the other. "Oh Tuon, I've found you at last. I escaped about an hour ago. I've been looking for you ever since. I lured the guard away and knocked him over the head with this." Selucia brandished the horse-shoe. "And oh, what have they done to you" Selucia gasped as she rushed forward and embraced Tuon. " Come on foolish woman, I can't believe that we haven't been discovered yet. You must untie me quickly!" Selucia started to go at the bindings with the carving knife. "I stole it from the side of a cook-fire, I suspected that they might have you tied up. They did the same to me, but I can hardly believe they would treat you so". "Hush, Selucia we aren't out of here yet." Just then Selucia finished cutting the ropes. "We must hurry now, have you found horses to escape on." " Yes at the western most side of camp, where there is hardly anyone about." "Take us there." The two woman ran through the night, edging their way to the west side of camp while keeping their distance from the other wagons. Tuon's heart leapt when she saw the horse lines. Two horses had been set aside from the rest and had been minimally equiped. Tuon ran to the smaller of the two and rushed about finishing putting on the saddle and getting the horse ready for the long hard ride she had in mind. Selucia was working on the other and making good progress, when out of the dark Tuon heard a voice that very nearly caused her to go into apoplexy. " What do you think you are doing?" She swung her hand through the air and luckily she clutched a post, otherwise she certainly would have fallen. It took her a few moments, due to her panic, to realize that the owner of the voice was only a small boy. Selucia was all action. She had the horse-shoe poised to knock the boy sensless on the spot. But Tuon heard herself say "No!". This was the boy that Mat Cauthon was forever doting on. The short ugly boy that Tuon remembered seeing in the Tarasin Palace. "Selucia, ready another horse while I deal with this child". " Another horse my lady, you don't mean to take this child with us do you?" Just then the boy started to back away. " Just do it Selucia! This boy means much to those who have held us. His absence will cause them much pain". Selucia got the hint and ran off to find another suitable beast of burden. " And now my boy you are coming with us." 


End file.
